


I Burn Bright And Leave Only Ashes

by Rikaleeta



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Backstory Rewrite, Trans Danny, lesbian ember
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-30 06:18:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18309890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikaleeta/pseuds/Rikaleeta
Summary: Ember is in town, but she doesn't want attention or revenge or power. Instead, as she stands outside the remains of a building long burned down, all she needs is someone to talk to. (For Phic Phight 2019, Team Human, Complete)





	I Burn Bright And Leave Only Ashes

It was a breezy late spring afternoon, one of those ones where there's just the right mixture of breeze and sun to feel pleasantly warm. To most of Amity Park, it seemed like a perfectly normal Sunday- kids laughing as they played on neighborhood streets, sleepy townsfolk coming home after church and lunch, and high schoolers hurriedly trying to do the homework they'd been procrastinating on all weekend. 

But today was anything but normal for a certain flame- haired ghost. 

Ember touched down on the ground on the sidewalk on the outskirts of the city. In front of her was the remains of a building, too charred to recognize the purpose it had had when it was whole. Rumor was around Amity Park that someone had died in the fire that burned it down. They all joked about how no one had cleared the remains, but in a town known for its hauntedness, no one much liked to tempt fate (or ghosts). They left it alone for fear that if they didn't, they would bring a ghost's wrath upon them. 

Ember tried- and failed- not to stiffen as she felt a very familiar presence alight on the ground beside her. “What, feeling remorse about an old conquest?” He quipped. 

Ember said nothing. She couldn't do this. Not today. 

The ghost beside her sighed, and she felt his demeanor soften. Only a bit, but it did, and she felt herself relax a bit with it. “Sorry.” His voice was soft, as if trying not to spook her. “I don't know where that came from.”

She looked over. Danny Phantom was looking back at her, his face full of concern. She searched his face, but she couldn't find any malicious intent. She just shook her head and turned her attention back to the building. “I will be.” Her voice was softer than she intended for it to be. 

For a moment, Phantom said nothing. Ember wondered briefly if he'd flown away, back to wherever he hung around until one of them attacked. She was almost startled when he spoke again. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She opened her mouth to tell him to fuck off, that no, she did  _ not _ want to talk about it, and to mind his own business. But she paused before she could, biting her lip instead. “I don't know.”

She felt a tentative hand land on her shoulder. It gave a gentle squeeze. When she looked back at Phantom, he was staring right into her eyes. “It's ok, Ember. I'm not gonna judge you for anything. Whatever happened here… you can tell me.” 

Ember felt her mouth open, watched her gaze return to the building’s remains, heard a sigh escape her lips. She felt disconnected from her body, no longer in control. When she started talking again, it was like watching as a third person. “This… this is where  I died.”

Phantom said nothing, and out the corner of her eye, she saw him watch her with a gentle gaze. He didn’t ask she continue. He didn’t say anything. He just… listened. It was kind of nice.

She bit her lip and continued. “I, uh. I’ve never told anyone the full story. And, I swear to the Ancients, if you  _ ever  _ tell  _ anyone  _ what I’m about to tell you, I’ll kill you again. Understood?”

Phantom actually chuckled, holding up his hands in surrender. “I swear, I won't tell anyone.” A small smile quirked at his lips. “Ya know, you remind me a lot of Sam.”

Ember rolled her eyes, turning away from Phantom so she could gather her thoughts. 

“It was… a while ago.” she sighed. “Things were… different. Even if ‘a while’ was only a couple decades.” Her hands came together, and she found herself fiddling with her fingers- a habit she thought she’d broken long before she’d died.

And she realized in that moment how different a time she’d come from. She knew, from things like Phantom’s battle with Desiree and him outright admitting it, that Phantom was trans. But still, this had been hard enough to admit to herself, much less an enemy. Yet it somehow felt safer to tell him than anyone else. Solidarity, she guessed. 

“I’m actually… gay. It’s part of the reason I died.” She carefully watched Phantom for his reaction from the side of her eye. His face remained unchanged, until she got to the part about it involving her death. 

“Wait.” he said. “You were killed because you were gay? Just how long ago did you die?”

“A couple decades? I don’t know, Phantom. Just listen to the damn story.” Phantom shut his mouth, shifting so he could sit cross- legged (even though he was still floating). 

She licked her lips. “Like I said, it was a while ago. But… not too long ago. Couldn’t have been more than twenty years.

“I knew I was gay for almost as long as I knew my parents were homophobes. Which is great for, you know, self esteem and internalised homophobia.” She could see Phantom nodding along with her without even looking at him. “But… I was eventually able to move past it. I let myself love myself, and I worked every day to move past those intrusive thoughts that came with the mentality my parents conditioned me into. I made myself become a better person.

“And then… I fell in love.” She smiled softly, remembering what was only whispers at the corners of her mind now. Faint memories of brown hair that tickled her cheeks when they kissed and eyes that shone like the stars. 

She didn’t even realise she was talking out loud until she saw Phantom looking at her with a lopsided grin. “That’s  _ adorable.”  _ He told her.

Ember would have turned scarlet were she still alive. As it was, her face turned a brilliant shade of cerulean- the closest thing she’d get to a blush ever again. “Anyway.” She plowed on with all the grace of a horse on roller skates. “I eventually got the courage to ask her out. And I told her that it would have to be a secret. And… she said  _ yes.”  _

She let the grin spread back across her face. “Our first date was amazing. It was a Friday night, and there was a carnival in town. We stayed until close, and then we walked around the city. We only came back to my apartment when the sun was coming up.” 

She could feel her throat closing up now. Phantom floated closer to her, letting down his legs and returning his hand to Ember’s shoulder. “Was this… your apartment complex?”

She nodded miserably. “My parents found out when I came home. I don’t know how. Maybe rumors. Maybe they saw us. I don’t know.” She took a shaky breath. “They were also prone to drinking.  _ Especially _ when something didn’t fit into their molds, like when Stonewall happened. Oh, they were drunk for  _ days  _ after that.” 

Ember licked her lips again. “I could smell the alcohol on the air when I got home. As soon as I walked through the door, my father slapped me across the face. He said… no daughter of his would be a f- a fa-” she ground her teeth, trying to work up the nerve to continue, and was surprised by a sudden cool embrace. 

“It’s ok.” Phantom said gently. “You don’t have to say it. And I’m so sorry that they did.” And even though they were enemies, Ember believed every word. She let herself sob into his shoulder. Phantom simply stayed there, not asking her to continue, simple being there to help.

Eventually, Ember drew in another shaky breath, letting herself stay in the hug. “One of them hit me with a bottle. I don’t know which. When I came to, there were flames everywhere. I couldn’t get out.” She closed her eyes. “And after I was gone, no one remembered me. I was just _the person suspected to have died in the freak fire.”_

“What about your date?”

Ember let out another sob. “They got her too. But… she didn’t turn vengeful like I did. She’s off somewhere in the Ghost Zone, living her best afterlife.”

Phantom said nothing, only let out a  _ hmm.  _ Ember pulled out of his arms, fixing him with a scorching glare. “What?”

Phantom’s arm flew to the back of his neck. “Well, I mean… have you ever asked her? I mean, she might miss you, too.” He lowered his arm. “Ember-”

“Emily.”

“What?”

“If I’m gonna spill my guts to you, you might as well know my real name. Ironically enough, Ember was the stage name I chose for myself. I wanted to be a musician.”

“Uh, ok.  _ Emily,  _ I think you should talk to her. Who knows? You might get a second date. Or, you know, closure.”

Emily opened her mouth to refute his bullshit claim, but stopped. She realised she  _ wanted  _ to talk to her- to Sabrina. A smile made its way across her face. “You know what? I think I will.” 

She started to fly away, back to the Fenton portal, but stopped. “You know what, Phantom? You’re pretty cool. Truce?” she stuck out her hand.

Phantom laughed, floating up to join her and shaking her hand. “Truce. Go play some concerts in the Ghost Zone. No one ever said you can’t make it big there, and I’m sure they’re just  _ dying  _ for some entertainment.”

Emily threw her head back and laughed- actually, genuinely, laughed. “I should kill you the rest of the way for those puns. But, since you offer such great advice, you get a reprieve.” 

Phantom grinned. “Come back sometime, ok? It’s nice talking to you when you’re not enslaving the human race.”

Emily smiled back. “Sure thing, Phantom.” And she flew off- through the Portal, into the Ghost Zone, and in search of Sabrina.

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So basically, in my opinion, Ember's backstory is complete bull shit. I looked it up out of curiosity, and apparently, Ember was pretty badly bullied. Then a boy asked her out. She waited for him all night- literally all night, until the sun came up- but he never showed. And then somehow the next day she died in a fire??? Idk it's bull shit and I also got Huge Lesbian Vibes from her when I rewatched the show, so here's my rewrite of her backstory.
> 
> In this fic, Ember died not too long after Stonewall. For those of you who don't know, Stonewall was what really got the ball rolling on LGBT protests. So homophobia was even more rampant in Ember's time. This fic itself takes place in a more modern setting, and therefore after the legalization of gay marriage.
> 
> Also, I headcannon that those black marks on her cheeks are actually smeared mascara. Because, you know, one is prone to crying when they're dying in a fire.


End file.
